Home-away-from-home has cover appeal at Pacific

Pottery Barn's annual college-themed catalog PBdorm chooses Stockton's University of the Pacific as its cover school. Staff and students react positively to the news.

Jo Ann Kirby/Record Staff Writer

With its stately brick buildings, University of the Pacific's 175-acre Stockton campus is an oasis of rose gardens, spacious lawns and shady trees with plenty of benches, steps and lounging spaces for students to study or chill out of doors.

It’s no surprise then that Pacific was chosen for the second time in three years to be part of Pottery Barn’s annual college-themed catalog PBdorm.

Actually, Pacific made the cover.

Would that make it a coverschool?

“How it looks on the cover, that’s really how our campus looks. It’s a really beautiful campus,” Lorena Campos, a Stockton native who is going into her senior year at Pacific, said. “It’s so picturesque and it’s actually a part of why I chose to come to Pacific.”

The admissions department likes to hear that — so much so that admissions director Rich Toledo asked Pottery Barn for copies of the PBdorm catalog to spread around the office, where prospective students and parents are suitably impressed by the school’s cover status.

The catalog features collections designed to help young people organize their college home-away-from-home in a way that’s stylish, functional, personal and economical.

“It has generated so much excitement for us,” Kerry Lechich, marking coordinator at Pacific, said. “Pottery Barn shot the photos during spring break, so our students didn’t know. It was fun for our students when they found out.”

Pottery Barn, a Bay Area-based home furnishings company, is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Williams-Sonoma Inc. It’s PBteen division puts out a PBdorm catalog once a year and features hip ideas and furnishings for helping students make the most of their shared space at college. On pbdorm.com, shoppers can find bedding, storage, bath, study, decor and other merchandise to make the most out of a small space.

PBteen’s team brought models to the university when the trees were in bloom for the shoot.

“PBteen likes the University of the Pacific for its classic academic architecture and beautiful grounds. Plus, it’s in relatively close proximity to our corporate offices in San Francisco — perfect for a day trip,” Matt Jernigan, vice president of creative services for PBteen, said. “The University of the Pacific has always been very accommodating and helpful to our crew. There are so many great options around the campus to capture that exciting college move-in experience.”

One photo was used on the catalog cover and others were used on the company’s social media sites.

Incoming students, who are stocking up on dorm supplies, were wowed.

“I thought that it was really great that it was featured on the catalog,” Heather Mills, an incoming freshman and Lincoln High School graduate, said. “Not only is the university beautiful outside, but the dorms are actually really nice.”

Mills said she will be rooming with her sister. They plan to string up Christmas lights in their room and are coordinating on design.

“My sister is a sophomore and last year she made these corkboards and put up pictures of family and friends. The ribbon matches her bedding,” she said. “We’ve come up with a look that defines each of us but still matches in some way.”